Hispanic Federation Fund for Puerto Rico Relief Link
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From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
Black Thursday
Lewis Black weighs in on the Republicans’ daylight robbery of the middle class, and the proliferation of sexual assault scandals...
“You wanna test that trickle-down theory? Drink about twenty beers. Then pee your pants. Then put a cup down here, and stand and see how long it takes for that pee to fill up that cup.”
Keep the pressure up on your senators and reps. They (the Republican ones, I mean) are counting on your silence. Disappoint them.
Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold...[Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Thursday, December 7, 2017
Note: Shhhh. I’ve been deputized by Sean Hannity to spy on the Deep State. Does hiding behind this ficus plant in a MAGA hat make me look like a dotard? (Blink once for yes, twice for no. Be subtle. I think the guy behind the poinsettia is spying on me---might be Deep State.)
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til the special election in Alabama: 5
Days 'til the start of the Festival of the Last Minute in Portland, Oregon: 9
Percent of Americans polled by Quinnipiac who believe Democrats and Republicans, respectively, would do a better job of handling tax reform: 47% / 39%
Percent of voters who believe the GOP tax bill will favor the rich at the expense of the middle class: 61%
Expected consumer spending across app stores worldwide in 2018: $110 billion
Average price of a gallon of gas: $2.46
Number of viewers who watched the 50th Anniversary salute to The Carol Burnett Show Sunday after we promoted it in Friday’s C&J: 15.4 million
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Your Thursday Molly Ivins Moment:
Scientists, a reality-based bunch of empiricists if ever there was one, are in no doubt about global warming.
The only question is about how fast it's happening. And many of the small minority who argue it is coming slowly are themselves in the pay of oil companies and industry groups.
As Upton Sinclair observed, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it." And that is not conspiracy-mongering. That is reality.
---December, 2004
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Puppy Pic of the Day: The canine #Resistance is alive and well…
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CHEERS to America the Resilient. Today marks the 76th anniversary of the “day that will live in infamy”---the surprise Japanese air attack on the U.S. base at Pearl Harbor that killed 2,403. As a nation, we snapped out of it in the blink of an eye and it was all downhill for Yamamoto and Tojo after that. The number of veterans who were there on Dec. 7, 1941 is fast dwindling. Exhibit A: 96-year-old Don Bloomfield, from my old stomping grounds in central Michigan, was 19 when the Japanese attack happened and today is the last Michigan-born Pearl Harbor survivor:
“There was a plane that came down just above the tree and he went by just a plain as could be," said Bloomfield.
At 19 years old Don was stationed in Hawaii as a fire truck driver. “Without a fire truck, believe it or not, that’s what I was," said Bloomfield. So he did any and everything from soup to nuts. On December 7th 1941 his duty was to move sand bags. “When we came back to get another load there was a flat top loaded with bodies," said Bloomfield. [...]
After leaving Hawaii Don went to flight school and served in France where he earned not one but two purple hearts.
Don and his fellow survivors would appreciate it if we young'uns would kindly never forget that day or those who were there. Happy to oblige.
JEERS to hell on earth. I’ve seen a lot of wildfire footage over the years, but this...this is just apocalyptic, and it’s in freaking Los Angeles. I watched this and wondered if I was gonna see Frodo run up and toss a ring into it:
Apparently one of Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch’s mansions was in the thick of the flames. So now we know there’s one source of the fire that can’t be ruled out: his pants.
CHEERS to today’s pop quiz. Quick! Put your hands over your eyes right now and riddle me this: who was just elected the new chair of the Democratic Governor’s Association? [Tick tock tick tock…] Okay, hands down. If you said Washington Governor Jay Inslee, you get an A+. Inslee is on a daunting but doable mission for 2018: get a whole bunch of other Democrats elected to their own governor’s mansions:
Democrats have an opportunity to pick up seats in 26 gubernatorial elections, including in 13 states whose Republican governors are currently term-limited.
The stakes for Democrats are high. Republicans control 32 state legislatures across the country, and winning more governorships would give Democratic officials a crucial stake in the decennial redistricting battles that will take place after the 2020 census. The process could allow party officials to draw more evenly shaped congressional districts in order to compete for additional House seats. […]
Inslee said that Democrats are “highly confident” about winning governorships in New Mexico, Nevada and Maine, whose Republican governors are term-limited, and that they have a good chance of winning in places they usually don’t compete well in: red states including South Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Kansas.
Given our party’s typical role in the wake of the other side’s tenures behind the governor’s desk, I have the perfect bumper sticker slogan: Make Democrats Fix What the Republicans Broke Again.
JEERS to Senator Sucker. Before voting “Ayuh!” on the Senate bill to shift massive amounts of wealth upwards to the richest Americans and largest corporations, Senator Susan Collins hopped up on a fence post and crowed about the promises she’d secured from Mitch McConnell and President Trump before she voted on passage of the Murray-Alexander Bill and the Collins-Nelson bills to shore up the Affordable Care Act. Idiot. She apparently forgot that she also needed buy-in from the House side. And she ain’t getting it:
According to a report in The Hill, the Wisconsin Republican said he had not given the same commitment to Collins that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, made to support bipartisan bills aimed at shoring up the Affordable Care Act. […]
Beyond Ryan, Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, a leader in the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said the Alexander-Murray bill could not pass the House, according to The Hill’s report. “The package that’s put together today is just not sufficient to get the votes,” Cole said. “You will not get the votes here.”
Oh well. You gave tax reform the old college try! ‘A’ for effort! Now take my advice: shred the damn thing, adjourn for the holidays, and you GOPers might…might…have a shot at salvaging your re-election chances next year if you pray to Baby Jesus hard enough. I’ll waive my usual consulting fee. You’re welcome.
CHEERS to…KENTUCKY CAGE MATCH!!! Here’s a fine case of “don’t get mad, get elected” that’ll be a hoot to watch in 2018. Kim Davis, the Rowan County clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples as required by law is running for re-election, and this time she’s got a challenger. His name is David Ermold, and he’s one of the people who got the “You’re going to Hell so I have to treat you as a second-class citizen” shtick from Davis, who, lest we forget…
When Ermord wins, he’ll bring a little integrity back to the office:
“As county clerk, I will make sure that all citizens seeking out services will be treated with dignity and respect, and I will make every effort to deliver an efficient, professional experience to everyone.
In addition, I will work to make voter registration more accessible and take an active role in promoting equal participation in our elections. I will ensure that our citizens have the required information that is needed to register to vote and provide appropriate access to polling places throughout the county. I will actively fight against voter suppression and encourage participation in our elections.”
Excellent. Ermold is just one of hundreds of fed-up Democrats who are running in races across the country, including many in which the Republican previously ran unopposed. You can read more about him and his background, as well as donate a few bucks, here at his web site. I don’t want to say Ermold has the edge, but yesterday morning when Kim Davis went walking on the sand Jesus's footprints did a U-ee.
CHEERS to great inventions. The microwave oven, invented by Dr. Percy LeBaron Spencer (from the great state of Maine), was patented on this date in 1945. We were going to use this as an opportunity to give a lecture on proper microwave usage and safety, but here in C&J “Danger” is our middle name and it’s too much hassle and paperwork to change it so…
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Disclaimer: Our last name is Dial911.
P.S. Apparently we have missile-based, microwave-emitting weapons on hand that can disable North Korean nukes by frying their electronics. Good to know. But if they can’t also heat up a burrito in ten seconds, I say it’s just another military-industrial ripoff.
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Ten years ago in C&J: December 7, 2007
JEERS to taking the easy way out. The military is dealing with the psychological damage done by the war in Iraq by throwing truckloads of psychotropic drugs at the troops:
Instead of providing proper counseling and care for Iraq war veterans suffering from physical and psychological pain, too often the U.S. military is trying to medicate the problem away, according to drug counselors and therapists.
Andrew Pogany, who works with service members nationwide as an investigator with the veterans advocacy group Veterans for America, said overmedicating veterans is a common problem. "Pretty much every person in my caseload is medicated, heavily medicated," said Pogany.
I believe I speak on behalf of every civilian in America when I say: where's ours??
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And just one more…
CHEERS to staying on track. A little low-tech lesson from our tank engine friends across the pond on how, on a perfect planet, proper planning prevents poor performance...
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We now return you to Planet Earth’s slow-motion train wreck, already in progress.
Have a nice Thursday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
Mike Pence’s Wife Reportedly Finds Bill in Portland Maine ‘Reprehensible,’ ‘Totally Vile’
---Mediaite
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